Ahead of the expected cold spell during the winter months, ‘Plumber to the stars’ Charlie Mullins gives his expert advice to home owners on how to protect their property from winter conditions.

The Pimlico Plumbers founder said: “The winter weather can be very troublesome for homeowners who have not taken the necessary steps to prepare their house for the cold. By following these simple steps homeowners will significantly reduce the chance of encountering problems such as burst pipes and heating systems that cannot handle the adverse conditions.

“Not only will homeowners prevent problems but they will also reduce the amount they spend on heating their home in the long run.”

Charlie’s top tips:

1. In these freezing conditions it is crucial to keep your water moving so that pipes don’t freeze up – running your taps every now and then will help to prevent freezing and could save you a hefty plumbers’ bill.

2. Another great tip that people just don’t think of is keeping your loft hatch open a few inches to let warm air into your loft or roof cavity where your water pipes are, which will help no end in keeping water from freezing.

3. Keeping your heating turned on low when you are out or even when you’re away for a few days or longer. It doesn’t have to be high at all, just 5 or 6 degrees C will do it, but once again if water stays above zero it won’t freeze.

Away for a few days? Stop potential issues with freezing pipes by keeping the heating at just 5 or 6 degrees C, no need to keep it on high.

4. Make sure your lagging (thermal insulation) is up to scratch: people think it’s too late to do anything about this now but the forecast says there’s at least a couple of weeks of this weather to come, and his will help keep things warm and save real money.

5. Another winner is to have your loft and cavity walls properly insulated – hot air rises so it makes sense to keep the heat inside the building – remember you paid for it so don’t let it get outside as it puts more strain on your boiler and uses up more expensive gas replacing the heat.

6. Regular servicing of your boiler and radiators: since the recession we have noticed an increase in emergency call outs as people try to save a bit of cash by cutting down on things they think are not important. But it makes so much more sense to spend a little getting your heating system up to scratch. Aside from the safely aspect, It will last longer and will perform when you most need it to.

7. Have a timer installed on your heating system: this will save you money by not running things at full temperature all the time, but at the same time give your house a little boost every now and then to keep things from getting too cold and giving you the sort of expensive problems you can experience when your pipes freeze up.

A Thermostatic radiator valve

8. Having thermostatic radiator valves fitted to all your radiators to control individual room temperatures will give you the ability to switch heat off completely in certain parts of your house, thus reducing your fuel costs further, while keeping things roaring where they are needed.

I agree with all points apart from #2, It would be better to check that the pipes have been lagged correctly, rather than wasting energy, it would probably be cheaper in the long run. All the others are good tips.